Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 850 Opening a Mansion

"Madam, you don't understand!" Liu Peiji said with a bitter smile: "It's not that I want to destroy the Three Treasures, but that the monks in Bianzhou are doing whatever they want, using the locust plague to scare the people, taking advantage of the opportunity to make profits, and saying that locusts are divine insects. They are so scared. The people are watching their crops being devoured by locusts, but they dare not save them. Do you think I can just sit back and do nothing because I have important responsibilities for the government?”

"Then you can't touch the Buddhist temple!" Mrs. Liu said anxiously: "You don't know how sad I am these days. People point fingers and make irresponsible remarks wherever I go. But as soon as you walk over, no one talks. Well, all the Zen masters in the monastery were making insinuations and scolding Huai. Hey, they were worried all day long, fearing that someday a disaster would come. , at least don’t involve the family, right?”

"Okay, okay!" Liu Peiji knew that his wife was having a hard time, so he could only comfort him: "Am I back now? Others are pointing fingers, we just need to stay at home and don't go out, and things will get better after a while. !”

"Come back? I heard that you have been dismissed from your official position, right?" Mrs. Liu asked.

"Yeah!" Liu Peiji nodded.

"That's fine!" Mrs. Liu didn't complain this time: "It's fine to rest at home for more time. I heard that the queen's mother entered the palace a few days ago just for this matter, because she was afraid that the court would hold on to her. He will also be punished."

"You don't have to worry about this!" Liu Peiji patted his wife on the shoulder: "The general has sent someone to tell me that this matter is over and there will be no other punishment!"

"That's not bad!" Mrs. Liu let out a long breath: "So, when the general asked you to go to Henan, and you caused such a big mess in Henan, he not only didn't blame you, but even ended it for you. This man is really a kind and kind gentleman!”

"Yes!" Liu Peiji sighed: "He was afraid that I would offend the local monks in Henan and be assassinated on the way, so he sent someone to escort me back to Chang'an. In addition, he also asked the envoy to ask me if I was exempted this time. I think I will be out of work for a few years, so he asked me if I would like to work for him!"

"I didn't reply immediately, so I said we should think about it in the long term first!"

Li Hong blinked his left eye again.

Li Hong, who was lying on the bed, did not blink. Wang Wenzuo asked: "Don't His Majesty like these two people?"

Li Hong lifted up the drooping bed curtain and found Li Hong lying on the bed. His face was pale, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were slightly closed. If his chest hadn't risen slightly, he would have been almost dead. Wang Wenzuo stretched out his right hand and stroked his arm gently. He could feel the muscles under his fingertips were loose and weak, as if there were no muscles under the skin, but a ball of wet cotton. At this time, Li Hong's eyes opened. At first, his eyes were dull. When he saw Wang Wenzuo, they lit up. His lips opened, but he could only make a sound of "Ah, ah!" When Wang Wenzuo saw this, he felt sad in his heart. He quickly knelt down, put his ear close to Li Hong's mouth, and asked, "What is your Majesty's decree?"

"That's fine!" Mrs. Liu was relieved when her husband didn't agree immediately: "It's not that I don't want to leave Chang'an, it's just that once you go to the general, you can't go back. And after all, you and the general still have something to do with each other. Old grudges, although he is magnanimous, but——"

Seeing Liu Peiji's silence, Mrs. Liu thought her husband was worried about Wang Wenzuo's invitation to come out, so she said softly: "Mr. Lang, it's okay if you don't want to serve the general. At most, we can leave Chang'an and go back to our hometown to live in seclusion." Yes, he won’t chase us home. Although our family is not wealthy, we still have hundreds of acres of land, and with the accumulation of money over the years, it is enough for us to enjoy our old age!”

"Then if the queen gives birth to a girl, let King Poyang wink his left eye when he succeeds to the throne, and let King Pei wink his right eye when he succeeds!"

Hearing what his wife said, Liu Peiji was also a little moved. Naturally, he would not be short of money. The gold he got from Murong Mu was enough to build a garden in his hometown for retirement. However, there were too many things that he could not say. He could only He smiled and said: "Madam, don't worry, I understand. Let's thank guests behind closed doors first, and let's talk about it after the limelight has passed!"

Li Hong blinked his left eye.

"Not necessarily!" Liu Peiji said with a smile: "The territory under the general's jurisdiction is not just Hebei. According to the envoy, it should be similar to things like Duzhi, salt and iron, which can be regarded as my old profession!"

"I understand, I understand. Didn't I already say that I want to take a long-term approach?" Liu Peiji was thinking to himself as he spoke: "Should I tell her that my impeachment of Wang Wenzuo was an act? Forget it, the things involved here are involved. There are too many, and I can’t explain them clearly, so I’ll just keep it a secret!”

Li Hong's chest was heaving violently, but he could only make a "beep" sound in his mouth. In desperation, tears streamed from his eyes. Seeing this, Wang Wenzuo hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient. Rong Chen will guess what you want to say. If he guesses right, blink his left eye. If he guesses wrong, blink his right eye. If you think you can, blink first. Left eye!"

Li Hong blinked his left eye when he heard this, and Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Your Majesty, are you worried about the crown prince?"

"Your Majesty hopes that the child in the Queen's womb will succeed to the throne?"

Taiji Palace and Ganlu Palace.

In this way, Liu Peiji stayed behind closed doors after returning to Chang'an. As time passed, no one paid attention to him. Everyone's attention was focused on the queen's growing belly, or to be precise, the baby who was about to be born. The fate of the entire empire depends on this matter.

"Then how did you reply?" Mrs. Liu asked quickly.

"Going to Hebei?" Mrs. Liu asked.

This time Li Hong blinked his left eye.

"It's not King Pei or King Poyang. Could it be King Li Xian of England?"

This time Li Hong blinked his right eye. Wang Wenzuo was completely confused. It was not surprising that Li Hong did not like the succession of King Poyang and King Pei, but it would be strange if he did not like King Ying. Could it be Li Dan, the prime minister? After thinking for a while, he asked: "Is that His Highness the Prime Minister?"

Li Hong blinked his right eye again, and this time his veins were exposed, his face turned red, and he was obviously anxious. Wang Wenzuo hurriedly comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't be impatient. I will ask you later!"

But Wang Wenzuo asked this question several times, but he still couldn't figure out what Li Hong meant, and in the end he had to give up. After he went out, he thought to himself: It is certain that the emperor wants to appoint the queen's son to succeed him, but the problem is that the queen may not give birth to a son. If it is a daughter, the only ones who can be the heir apparent are Poyang King Li Shouwen, Pei King Li Xian, and Ying King Li Xian. , Prime Minister Li Dan and several others, but depending on Li Hong's intentions, he doesn't like any of them, so who else can he choose? Could it be the queen? But even his father only asked his daughter-in-law to serve as the Second Holy Assistant, not directly as the emperor?

Wang Wenzuo returned to his residence with full of doubts. There was a thick stack of documents in front of him. Compared with Zhang Wenguan and Li Yuanjia, he had an additional job, which was many affairs in Hebei and Haidong. Although most of them were It has been handled by the guards in various places, but some of the most important things still require his own approval.

"There is a lack of talent, there is a real shortage of talent!" Wang Wenzuo said worriedly while flipping through a letter: "I don't know when Liu Peiji will be willing to come over. If he comes, he can be sent to Fan Yang to pay Duzhi, Leave all the financial and taxation matters to him, and the customs framework should be set up. Once foreign colonization is launched, domestic and foreign trade will skyrocket. This income has low tax costs and can come in quickly, so we must seize it. "

While dealing with government affairs and considering personnel arrangements, Wang Wenzuo was busy in front of the desk all afternoon. Then he got up and moved his body and saw Hu Liang coming.

"My son, please pay your respects to your father!" Hu Liang knelt down and bowed to Wang Wenzuo.

"Get up, get up!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "What? Aren't you going to be on duty in the palace today? Why do you have time to come to my place!"

"Actually, it's about the fixed month!" Hu Liang said with a smile: "She wants to do something, and she hopes to talk to you first!"

"What does your wife want to do?"

"You also know that there are many ways to recruit scholars in the Tang Dynasty, the best of which is the Hongwen Pavilion!" Hu Liang said with a smile: "Dingyue wanted to open a palace of her own and set up a pavilion to select a group of talents, but she is a woman after all. , I just want to come to father and ask you!"

"Your Highness, the eldest princess, wants to open a government office to recruit scholars?" Wang Wenzuo looked at his son with a strange look. Senior officials in the Han Dynasty (such as Sangong, generals, generals, etc.) had the power to establish government offices and select their own officials. , and a relationship similar to that of "monarch and minister" was formed between the subordinates who were recruited and their superiors. This is the famous "double monarch theory" in ancient and medieval my country. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, this power of opening a government gradually shifted downwards, and even the governors of various states and those with the rank of military commander could open a government. In real history, Princess Taiping did set up a literary museum to recruit talents and recommended them to her brother. Through this, she influenced the government and had huge power. Unexpectedly, in this historical line, her mother, Empress Wu, died before she ascended the throne as emperor. She still followed this path. Is this the power of blood inheritance?

"The eldest princess is your wife, what do you think about this matter?" Wang Wenzuo did not answer directly.

"My child thinks this is a good idea!" Hu Liang said: "There are indeed many talents in Chang'an, but they have no way to serve the country, so we can only lament. If we can give them one more way out, it will be good for the country and the people!"

"This matter is not that simple!" Wang Wenzuo sighed: "The eldest princess is a woman after all, and everyone in the world will associate her with you. Selecting talents is of course a good thing, but this is not something that ministers can meddle in casually. , those talents selected by Her Royal Highness the Princess will be labeled as your husband and wife for the rest of their lives, what will others think? "

"Then, father, didn't you do the same thing?"

"Yes, I did do this, but the talents I selected are either in Hebei or Haidong. They usually do not enter the center or go to the prefectures and counties of Datang. My people will not touch other people's cakes, and It's different for you and your wife. You and your wife are already extremely rich and distinguished. If you continue to do this, others will only think that you want to go further, which will be a fatal disaster!"

When Wang Wenzuo said this, Hu Liang's face turned gloomy. He really didn't think about it so deeply. After a while, he nodded: "I understand, I will tell Dingyue when I go back!"

"Well, you don't have to say anything. After all, she is still young!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "If she listens to what you said and still insists on doing this, there is nothing you can do about it. After all, she is the emperor's only relative. Sister, she also has a share in this world!"

Hu Liang said nothing, nodded, stood up and left. Wang Wenzuo looked at his son's leaving figure, his eyes changed, and finally he sighed: "You have to walk your own path after all. At my age, I can control you for a while, but I can't control you for the rest of your life!"

When Hu Liang returned home, he found his wife and recounted what Wang Wenzuo had said before. Finally, he said: "Although what my father said is not pleasant, it is also true. In my opinion, let's put the matter of opening the mansion aside for now." Bar!"

"Mr. Lang!" Li Dingyue sighed: "If the eldest brother is fine, I will definitely not do such troublesome things to open the house and ask for trouble. But now that the eldest brother is so sick, the queen is still pregnant with a boy or a girl. I don’t know, I have no choice but to show up and do these things, and it’s not just for you and this family!”

"For me? For this family?" Hu Liang laughed: "One of us is Wang Wenzuo's son, and the other is the emperor's sister, so what do we have to worry about?"

Li Dingyue rolled her eyes at her husband: "Of course you and I are rich and honorable at this time. But have you ever thought about the future? Your father is fifty this year, right? How many more years are left? Your father has made a lot of enemies. After his death, you won't get much of the property, and your enemies will have as much as they want. My brother is like this, and it seems that he will definitely fail. It would be better if the next one is King Pei, King Ying, or King Xiang. In this generation, I am no longer the emperor's biological sister, but the emperor's sister-in-law. That's far from it! If you don't worry about the future, you will have immediate worries. If I don't take advantage of now to make some preparations, what will happen in the future? But it’s too late to cry!”

"That's not the case, right?" Hu Liang said with a bitter smile: "Even if my father passes away, I have brothers outside to support me, and my internal official position is not low. How could it be like you said?"

"Brothers to help?" Li Dingyue laughed: "Believe me, when your father was still alive, your brothers might have been a helping hand. If he is gone, it would be good if your brothers were not enemies. As for official positions, who If you control the center of the imperial court and you can't even move a single soldier with a piece of paper, what's the point? Don't you believe it? There are plenty of history books about this kind of thing, just go and read it!"

"Okay! Then my father has said so, what should I do?" Hu Liang asked.

"Ignore him, just do it. As long as he doesn't object, Prime Minister Zhang and King Han will not object! As for the Queen, she is busy giving birth now and has no time to care about us. She will take this time to cook the uncooked rice. Once the rice is ready, everything will be fine!”